Cohen’s column sums up the social attitudes of a whole privileged layer, who are indifferent to inequality, despise the working class and have embraced imperialism as a necessary foundation of their wealth.

If right-wing forces can once again openly agitate for a military coup, it is thanks to the reactionary role of the PT and the various pseudo-left groups that have sought to promote illusions in this capitalist party.

In the wake of last June’s massive popular demonstrations, a group of pseudo-left parties in Brazil are engaged in political maneuvers aimed at cobbling together a “left front” coalition for the 2014 elections.

Over the past week, Brazil has witnessed its largest protests since the end of the military dictatorship in 1985. This eruption of mass struggles has exposed the crisis of revolutionary leadership in the working class.

Tensions between the government of Workers Party President Dilma Rousseff and hundreds of thousands of striking federal workers deepened as federal police and other sectors of the public workforce joined the walkout.

A prolonged strike by 350,000 university professors, electrical workers and other federal employees poses a direct challenge to the economic policies initiated by the Workers Party government in response to the global crisis.